The present invention generally relates to cold plates, water-cooled cold plates, and methods for manufacturing and assembling cold plates.
Computing systems with the highest power densities are typically water-cooled. Water has a high heat capacity and can remove heat more effectively than air. Water cooled computing systems typically use a cold plate placed in thermal contact with a computing chip or other heat generating device through a thermal interface material (TIM) layer. The cold plate is often a copper structure, through which water is made to flow. An thermally active region or “fin pack” is constructed with thermally conductive fins attached to a base, and the base is inserted between top and bottom outer wall structures, in order to form the entire cold plate. For the most effective heat removal, the cold plate and TIM are put in direct contact with the silicon die that forms the computing chip, in a method referred to as bare die attach. Heat is conducted from the chip through the TIM through the bottom wall of the cold plate, into the base and fins and from the fins into the water which flows past the fins inside the cold plate. Heat is removed as the water flows through and out of the cold plate.
Current cold plates are typically manufactured using multiple forming and/or machining steps. The advent of injection molding technologies for copper and other metals could significantly reduce the costs associated with making cold plate structures.